Hi, I'm Ken Dewey, and I'm a professor of climatology in the School of Natural Resources.

My main research and outreach interests are in severe storm climatology, climate variations, snow and ice studies, and drought impacts. My primary outreach activity is to bring information on severe weather and related safety tips to the public, in order to help them survive the storms. I do a large amount of this through information posted on various web sites and through the Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium. It's a free public event that draws up to 3,000 people to hear storm experts and see many weather-related presentations and displays. I also do numerous interviews with the media and make public presentations across the state.

I maintain and produce the content for the Lincoln Weather and Climate web site. This is a location that offers timely regional weather information, so the public can keep up-to-date on droughts, major weather events and trends, etc. and make better decisions related to weather and climate. Storm reports and numerous weather-related photo galleries are some of its most popular products. I produce content for various web sites that receive more than 12 million visits per year.

I am also monitoring the on going drought in Nebraska and the western United States, delivering the latest information on the magnitude and trend of the current drought. This drought is severely affecting the agricultural community and water resources across much of the western part of the country.

Selected Publications

Dewey, K.F. 2001. Climate and the West. Journal of the West. 6-9 .

Dewey, K.F. 2001. Weather in the West (volume editor). Journal of the West. 40(3): .

Dewey, K.F. 2001. Weather of the West. Journal of the West. .40(3):31-38.

Outreach Events

Central Plains Severe Weather Symposium and Weatherfest

What is this event about:

The first Symposium was held on Aug. 29, 1999, in Omaha, Nebraska. The event was then moved to Lincoln, Nebraska, and has been organized by Dr. Ken Dewey, High Plains Regional Climate Center, School of Natural Resources, UNL, since 2000. The symposium is now offered on an annual basis in Lincoln. The popularity of the event has been phenomenal. About 500 people attended the first symposium in 1999, and about 4,000 attended in 2005. The number of exhibits has increased from five in 1999 to 37 in 2005. National and local experts will be invited to talk about how to better prepare to mitigate injuries and loss of life and property from all forms of severe weather. The exhibitors also provide brochures and handouts that help the public better plan to "survive the storms."

Who sponsors this event:

High Plains Regional Climate Center, School of Natural Resources, Lancaster County Office of Emergency Management, National Weather Service, Omaha/Valley Nebraska, University of Nebraska Student Chapter of the American Meteorological Society

What target audiences is this event most geared towards:

Pre-K/Elementary School

Middle/High School

College

OLLI - lifelong learning for adults 50 years and older

General Public

Families

UNL Summer Weather Camp

What is this event about:

Weather Camp is a week-long day camp for students who are ages 11-14 at the time of the camps. The camp will take place Monday - Friday and will run from 9am - 5pm each day. On Friday, in the evening, we will have a picnic for our campers and their families followed by a program in Hardin Hall where awards will be given and campers will be able to showcase their activities from the weather camp week. During the week, campers will get to use instruments to make their own weather observations, meet forecasters at the National Weather Service, learn about the local weather of Nebraska from tornadoes to blizzards, visit the office of Emergency Management, learn about storm preparedness, learn about weather and climate related careers, and visit a TV weather studio to watch the news and weather live in the studio.

Who sponsors this event:

School of Natural Resources

What target audiences is this event most geared towards:

Middle/High School

I didn't know there were other kids like me out there.Camp Participant